â€œWar never changesâ€ â€“ but Fallout sure has. We tend to look back through nostalgic rose-colored glasses at the games of â€˜yesteryearâ€™ until those rare occasions arise in which we load them up again and discover just how terrible they look alongside the Gears of Wars and Oblivionâ€™s lining our shelves today.
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Out is the conversation wheel that made up that hellish little dialogue mini-game in Oblivion and in is an upgraded dialogue system more akin to your Mass Effect.
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What would a Fallout game be without weapons? As Todd puts it, â€˜Fallout is a game where weâ€™ve found you can just go crazy weapons.â€™ You can even make your own weapons! As an example Todd shows off the â€˜Rock-Itâ€™ launcher â€“ one of the weapons you can build yourself which shoots rocks and other items found throughout the game. Not sure what to do with it? Try firing off some records or scissors at an incoming mutant!

The range of homemade weapons one can fashion runs the gamut from traditional ranged affairs like the aforementioned â€˜Rock-Itâ€™ launcher to the likes of the Vault Boy lunchbox that can be filled up with explosives and bottlecaps (yes, theyâ€™re still the gameâ€™s currency of choice) and then set off blowing up nearby NPCs or friends.

Now thatâ€™s some funny violence!
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One of the biggest concerns the team repeatedly heard from the community revolved around the use of weapons in an RPG â€“ more succinctly â€“ will elements like Action Points and Targeted Shots be making a return from the original? The answer to this comes in the form of the Vault-Tecâ„¢ Assisted Targeting System or VATS.
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If development of Fallout 3 continues sailing on this course â€“ 2008 could prove to be an Epic year for RPG fans.
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Todd Howard: Hey, violence is funny â€“ lets all just own up to it! Violence done well is f---ing hilarious. Itâ€™s like Itchy and Scratchy or Jackass â€“ now thatâ€™s funny! â€œ